Her Ruby
by justmeagain30421
Summary: Sapphire was called to Earth to assess what could be done about the rebellion. She never expected her life to change. (Rupphire one-shot that turned into several one-shots)
1. Chapter 1

( **AN: Trying my hand at Steven Universe now. This is not beta-d at all, just scanned over about four times by me. Constructive criticism is always and forever appreciated! I might do this same fic from Ruby's POV if that seems to be the consensus. Also, I ship Pink and Blue Diamond purely because it's been over 5,750 years and** **BLUE IS STILL NOT OVER IT.** **The first bit of this sad lil' fic reflects this.)**

Sapphire zoned in and out of the meeting, letting her future vision take her in and out of conversations and situations that hadn't happened yet. She would have to remember to tell her pearl to write up a list of duties for the new peridot that would replace the one standing on the wall to her right. That wouldn't happen for a few months though, so she put it in the back of her mind. The vision flashed again. The same vision that had been bothering her the past two days.

She wasn't sure what it was, but it was reaching for her, trying to get her attention. It had started when she had heard of the rebellion on the new colony. Her pearl had read it off of the list of meetings for that week when it had hit her. Blinding flashes of red, pink, and blue. She could hear the war cries of gems, and the clashing of swords. And then it ended. Nothing more, nothing less. It was something, but she wasn't sure what.

Her thoughts of the mysterious vision were interrupted by a slight kick from the fire agate next to her. The agate glanced at Blue Diamond, and back to Sapphire, indicating she had asked a question. Sapphire quickly scanned for the response that would not land her in hot water with her diamond.

"Yes, my diamond. I will go to the colony and assess what can be done."

Blue Diamond nodded. "Excellent. I will have Pearl send an itinerary, and include your departure time. Would you like a team of rubies?"

Sapphire, who was still trying to figure out where exactly she had just agreed to go, started to decline. Rubies rarely were any help if danger arose, and mostly just elongated the time before Sapphire herself had to deal with the problem, or was simply poofed. Which was why she surprised herself with the "If it would not impose on my diamond too much."

Where in the galaxies had _that_ come from?

Blue Diamond waved her hand, and was about to say something else, when her pearl burst through the large door. Blue Diamond stood up.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

Sapphire flinched. Pearls were strictly forbidden from meetings such as this, and even a diamond's pearl would not be excluded from the punishments that came with entering one unannounced and uninvited.

Blue Pearl seemed out of breath, but the one thing Sapphire noticed was the _terror_ coming from her. It was strong, pure, absolute terror, the kind of which Sapphire has never felt before. Blue Pearl tried to bow to her diamond, but was simply too agitated, and stumbled.

"I'm sorry, my diamond, but… it's…"

"Well?!" Blue diamond demanded.

Blue Pearl's panting slowed a little, only to give way to sobs. "It's Pink Diamond."

Blue Diamond immediately swayed a little, and her hand rested on her chair to right herself.

"What-," She swallowed thickly and started again. "What about Pink Diamond?"

Sapphire saw what news Blue Pearl was about to deliver, and a gasp escaped her. She felt sick to her stomach, and grabbed the table as all the air she didn't need rushed from her mouth.

Blue Diamond, who was becoming increasingly worried and agitated, slammed her fist on the table. "Some gem had better tell me what is happening or you will all be shattered!"

Blue Pearl flinched. "My diamond… Rose Quartz has shattered Pink Diamond."

That was the first time Sapphire had ever seen a diamond fall.

* * *

The next few days were a frenzy. Blue Diamond rushed out of the meeting and left for earth the same day she heard the news. Her official reason was to protect Pink Diamond's court, as well as be the governing body for the gems still loyal to Homeworld on the colony. Sapphire knew better. She would never tell anyone, but she still knew.

Her itinerary came a week later. She would leave in two days. Her ruby team would arrive in one. She would arrive on earth approximately two weeks after departure from Homeworld. She debating on bringing Pearl, but ultimately decided that between dealing with rubies she had so stupidly agreed to as well as the danger that came with entering the war zone that was planet earth outweighed her need to be waited on hand and foot. She left her with Yellow Diamond's sapphire, with instructions to keep her until she arrived back on Homeworld.

Her ruby squad was waiting within her compartment when she returned from Yellow Diamond's complex.

They closed their eyes and bowed. "Your Clarity."

Sapphire nodded slightly in acknowledgement, and surveyed her ruby team. The one furthest from her had her gem on her right shoulder. She seemed braver than the other three, and Sapphire could already see her running her mouth the entire time they would be together. She smirked a little at the vision of her gem after being poofed. The ruby in the middle's gem placement was on the back of her right hand. She was a tad less of a loudmouth than Shoulder, by not by much. She was more reasonable, so that gave her a plus in Sapphire's book. She too, would be poofed.

Her eyes landed on the ruby closest to her, only to find her already looking back at her. The ruby's cheeks blushed a deeper red than the rest of her, and she ducked her head. This one was as quiet as a ruby could be, and the most level-headed. Her gem placement was the exact opposite of Sapphires own, the palm of her left hand. She wouldn't be poofed. There was something different about this one. She would do something, something that Sapphire wasn't quite able to see.

She was still trying to see what that something was when her com buzzed.

"If you'll excuse me."

They took this as their relief order, and straightened. Sapphire reached the com.

"Sapphire- Facet 1G2X Cut 1LA- Blue Diamond."

"Holly Blue Agate- Facet 5A7O Cut 9TD- Blue Diamond. Your Clarity, I am calling to inform you that your ship has been prepared, and will begin departure at star set tomorrow. It is recommended that you arrive earlier than that. Will you be traveling with lessers?"

"A team of three Rubies."

"Yes, Your Clarity. Accommodations will be made. I look forward to seeing you again upon arrival."

Sapphire nodded in acceptance.

The holly blue awkwardly stood in front of the camera for a moment. Sapphire raised her eyebrow, unbeknownst to the agate because of her hair.

Holly Blue cleared her throat. "Right. Holly Blue Agate- Facet 5A7O Cut 9TD- Blue Diamond, out."

The com ended.

Sapphire sighed. The only problem she could find with ranking directly below the diamonds was the awkward tension that arose between her and literally every other gem. She supposed that she instigated some of it, being as closed off as she chose to be. But it was hard to find the want or need for conversations when she already knew what would be said and how it would end. She shook off the com call and turned back to her rubies.

Shoulder and Right Hand were looking at the ground complacently. Left Hand was looking at her again, but immediately dropped when she noticed Sapphire had turned. Sapphire felt her cheeks warm and a smile play at her lips. Odd. She couldn't remember the last time she had smiled.

"Have any of you ever been off Homeworld?"

"No, Your Clarity." The three said in unison.

Sapphire nodded. "It's an experience. Tomorrow, we will board the ship. The trip will take one week and 6 days. Upon arrival, I will assess the situation, and determine what must be done. Depending on the course of fate that is taken, we may have to stay and direct the gems in charge of ending the rebellion. This may be our diplomatic team, or this may be warriors. You three are to protect me. Unless they are a threat in the moment, you are not to go fighting the rebels unless I or Blue Diamond give you direct orders. Is that clear?"  
"Yes, Your Clarity."

"Good. Take this day to familiarize yourself with the Crystal Gems and the earth. You may use my screen." Sapphire motioned to the screen on the wall behind the rubies. "I must attend to a few duties that need to be taken care of before my departure."

"Yes, Your Clarity."

Sapphire stifled a sigh at the repetitiveness. "I shall return." She let herself float towards her door, and took one last glance at her ruby team. Shoulder and Right Hand were already gravitating towards the screen, excited to be able to use one. Left Hand was turning that way when she felt Sapphire's eye on her, and turned back. This time, it was Sapphire who blushed and ducked her head as she exited the compartment.

* * *

One week. Seven, agonizing, infuriating days. Sapphire had frozen Shoulder four times, and had used her knuckle dusters to poof her once. Right Hand had only been frozen twice. Sapphire hadn't poofed her… yet. And Left Hand.

Left Hand hadn't been poofed… or frozen… or even snapped at. She had been, nice? Sapphire wasn't sure. She was almost like a pearl, except she wasn't just doing things for Sapphire, she was helping her with things. She helped Sapphire carry boxes of archive information on colonization to the screen room. She helped her go through all that information, and even helped her make sense of some of it. It got to the point where she wasn't even 'Left Hand' anymore. She was just 'Ruby'. Sapphire would even dare say she enjoyed her company.

But then there were the looks. The random times Sapphire would glance at Ruby to find her already looking at her. Or when they would be conversing, and Ruby would just start to grin as Sapphire was talking. It was immediately wiped away when Sapphire questioned her about it, and she always brushed it off.

Sapphire found herself blushing whenever it happened around day three.

* * *

Earth was a war zone. That was the only way Sapphire could even think of describing it. Broken gems were brought to Blue Diamond every day. Sapphire could see them from her temporary compartment. It struck her right to her core every time she saw. She didn't know what happened to those shards, just that they were then warped away somewhere. Ruby eventually brought in a shade for the window.

After two days of meetings with the war generals, Blue Diamond, her fellow diplomats, and the members of Pink Diamond's court that had taken refuge in Blue's, Sapphire finally felt the paths of fate become clear to her. She shut herself alone in her compartment to examine each one, and determine the course of action that should be taken, as well as the outcomes for each one.

She saw so many things. So many horrible, horrible things. No matter what happened, someone would get shattered. In most of the visions, it was Rose Quartz and her army. In some, it was Sapphire herself. In one, it was Blue Diamond. The kinds that she steered absolutely clear of were those where it was Ruby. Finally, she saw one with the least amount of destruction. Rose Quartz would be caught and shattered, as well as the renegade pearl. Most of her army would escape, and lead the lives their type of gem let them lead. But to make this a reality, she would be poofed. She was okay with that. She could see her reformation on Homeworld, and all would be well.

Sapphire exited her compartment. The ruby team was waiting for her outside the door. Her Ruby-

Sapphire caught herself. ' _Her Ruby_ '?! Where in the galaxies did that come from?! She swallowed and shook it off. She didn't have time to deal with that.

The ruby team looked at her expectantly.

"I know what must be done, but we must hurry."

The team nodded, and fell into formation, guarding her on the way to Blue Diamond's palanquin. Ruby walked closely in front of her, while Shoulder and Right Hand conversed further ahead. Sapphire was so distracted by the route of fate they were choosing; she almost didn't see Ruby bumping into her. Almost as soon as she saw it, it happened. Ruby immediately went to blubbering and apologizing.

"Oh, I, um, I'm so sorry, I, let me, uh…"

Sapphire brushed her off. "I'm fine."

"What?" Ruby swallowed.

"It's okay, it was bound to happen."

"I, uh… okay."

"Now please wait here. I must attend to my duties." Sapphire felt Ruby look at her, but she was too tense to turn and answer.

Sapphire arrived at the palanquin. "My Diamond, I've arrived."

Blue Diamond's voice was cold and numb. "Sapphire, tell me what will happen here."

Sapphire took a breath she didn't need, and began the words she had been practicing. "I foresee the rebels attacking the Cloud Arena. Before they are cornered, they will destroy the physical forms of seven gems, including two of my ruby guards, and myself. Immediately after my form is destroyed, the rebels will be captured. The rebellion ends here."

"Thank you, Sapphire. That's all I needed to know." Sapphire didn't comment on the relief that was evident in her voice.

Sapphire walked back to her ruby team, and stood next to Ruby. She felt a twinge of remorse over their earlier encounter, and tried to make up for it.

"What a beautiful place to build a colony. I wish I could have seen more of this planet."

Ruby looked surprised she was talking to her, which just drove Sapphire's guilt home. "Uh… there's still time."

Sapphire let out a breath at that. "That is a nice thought, but… no."

The rebels arrived.

Sapphire felt Ruby leave her side to fuse with the other rubies. She flinched when she saw the pearl let her sword fly, and heard the first four gems hit the ground. Rose Quartz unfused the rubies with a quick slash of her swords. The pearl jumped in to poof them away. It was Sapphire's turn.

She knew she would never see Ruby again. But she would be okay, so Sapphire could live with it.

She let her eye rest on Ruby. "Thank you, Ruby. You did your best."

Sapphire took a deep breath, and prepared herself for the pain of the sword.

"NOOOOO!"

Sapphire felt herself being pushed, and then she was flying through the air, wrapped in someone's arms. And then she wasn't. She was aware, but it wasn't her. It was half of her and more than her at the same time. She glanced around, she could see, yet she could feel power that she had never known coursing through the unfamiliar body. She felt fury and patience, peace and war, love and loss all at once. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever experienced.

"Wha…" A voice that wasn't hers spoke. She saw a body that wasn't hers, and instinctively lifted her hands to check her gem. The gem on her left hand wasn't hers. "What…!?"

Sapphire was scared. She was never scared. She felt her fear, she felt someone else's fear, and she felt their combined fear. It was almost too much.

She felt herself look around. "What…" That voice again… "What is this?"

"SAPPHIRE!" Sapphire saw Ruby, but didn't see Ruby, she felt her close, very, extremely, incredibly close.

"RUBY!" Sapphire shouted back. Sapphire saw Ruby in her mind's eye reach for her, and on some level that wasn't physical, she could feel Ruby's arms wrap around her.

Sapphire can hear Ruby's thoughts. She can feel her feelings, as well as their combined feelings.

The voice speaks again. "Is this…?"

Sapphire had just begun to think that this wasn't so bad. It was peaceful. It was warm and comforting and… loving. But then a force burst in, and she and Ruby were flung apart. Sapphire could hear the crowd, but couldn't process any of it. She couldn't process anything until…

"The rebels have fled. Sapphire, this was not the scenario you described!"

Sapphire was breathing deeply, and could feel beads of sweat forming on her skin. "This is… not what I saw! I don't know what happened, I- "

"NO!" Ruby cut in. "It was me!"

"Clearly." Blue Diamond's voice was cold. Sapphire felt pure terror shoot through her.

"How dare you fuse with a member of my court?!"

Ruby became flustered. "Forgive me, I…!"

Blue Diamond interrupted her. "You will be _broken_ for this!"

Sapphire didn't think, didn't try to see, didn't even look at Blue Diamond. She just reacted. She grabbed Ruby's hand, ran, and jumped.

Ruby was screaming externally. Sapphire was screaming internally. She didn't know what just happened. She didn't know what was about to happen. She didn't know anything anymore. The only thing she knew, and perhaps the only thing she would ever know again, was that nobody was going to hurt _Her Ruby_.


	2. Chapter 2 (Ruby's POV)

**(AN: So, this is almost exactly twice as long as Sapphire's chapter. I found it easier to get inside of Ruby's head as well as her world, so most of that is just descriptions. This chapter is probably rated M for swearing and whatnot, so just be aware of that before you start reading. But, without further ado, Ruby and Sapphire.)**

Ruby was in her daily training course when they voice came over the coms.

"All rubies, report to ground 1. All rubies, report to ground 1."

Ruby glanced over at 7PV, one of her compartment mates.

7PV shrugged her shoulders. "Beats me. I've never heard of every single one of us on the same ground."

Ruby shrugged as well, and dissipated her gauntlet. She and 7PV walked over to join the rest of their company. 7PV split off from Ruby to join the rest of the 7s, while Ruby shuffled over to the 6s. Once everyone was in place, they all filed out.

The rhythmic stomping and thudding of shoes usually had an odd calming effect on Ruby, but today, something was off. The footsteps seemed ominous, like something bad was about to happen. Ruby was getting antsy.

The company arrived at ground 1, and were checked in by a jasper.  
"Company 2L6M, reporting." Came a voice from the front of the company. Ruby knew her as 1AD. She was supposed to be their sergeant, in charge of their training and taking care of minor disturbances within the company. She never did any of that, not that any of the sergeants did. She would lightly reprimand them when a dispute arose, and would remind them when it was time to train. That was it. Like every other company in Alpha E-1, the jaspers ran almost everything. They set up training schedules, mission deployments, and assigned company sergeants. But they never had much to do with the rubies, aside from telling them what to do, and yelling at them when they didn't do it.

The Alpha E-1 Ruby Camp was _supposed_ to be the best ruby facility within Homeworld's galaxy. It was really just the closest. Only one planet over from Homeworld, Alpha E-1 provided rubies quickly, earning the title. In reality, it was probably one of the worst. Ruby didn't know, she'd never been outside the camp, but she assumed. Maybe all camps are like that, and their system just worked better. She didn't know. Didn't particularly care, either. All she knew was that, despite being 'the best ruby facility in the galaxy', they never, _ever_ had all of the companies on ground 1 at once.

Ground 1 was the jaspers ground. They handed out orders, training times and schedules, as well as mission assignments from ground 1. This was where orientation took place, before you were assigned a company, and were likely never to see ground 1 again, unless you seriously fucked up, or had a mission. Ruby didn't know of anything that would constitute either of those things. There was no way they'd clear out the entire facility for a mission, and she couldn't imagine some gem screwing up bad enough that would bring down the wrath of the jaspers on the entire camp.

As Ruby walked past the jasper the checked them in, she noticed something odd. Tears? She thought they were tears. She wasn't completely sure; she'd only heard of such a thing. However, the jasper seemed completely messed up. Shaking and opening and closing her mouth repeatedly. The ominous feeling threatened to overwhelm Ruby.

Her company settled in between 2L5M and 2L7M, and waited. The last company, 9Y9Z marched in, and a gem Ruby had never seen before appeared on the warp pad in the center of the room. She was white, with a white suit on. Her hair seemed white, but when she moved, it would shimmer in different colors. From red to violet and every color in between. Ruby had never seen anything like that. Her gem was on the center of her forehead, and seemed to shimmer like her hair. Ruby had never seen any gem with a color other than orange or red, much less as many colors as this gem had.

The gem raised her hand, and the room immediately quieted. You could feel the power and strength radiating from her, and Ruby feared for the gem who didn't do as she said.

"My name is Iris Agate. I am a direct counsel to White Diamond-"

The gasp that echoed through the room was understandable. White Diamond, the most powerful of the diamonds, rarely had anything to do with other diamonds, much less their ruby facilities. If a member of her court had entered the camp, she would be treated as if she were a diamond herself. But this gem, a _direct counsel_ to White Diamond herself, it was unheard of. Agates with direct connection to the diamonds were extremely powerful, ranking only below the diamonds themselves, and their sapphires.

Such a powerful gem, belonging to such a powerful diamond, coming to a ruby camp? Something was not right.

The agate stood for a moment, then raised her hand again. Ground 1 went from mutters and whispers to dead quiet in under a millisecond.

"As I was saying," She said pointedly. "I am a direct counsel to White Diamond, as well as her sapphire, and administrator of all of her facilities. I rarely leave My Diamond's compound. Today is an exception. As red corundums, as well as you orange and red chalcedonies, you all fall under the reign of Pink Diamond. Today, that changes." The muttering threatened to start back up again, but a quick snap of Iris' fingers put an end to it quickly. "Most of you have heard of the rebellion currently taking place in the Crystal System, on the colony Earth. The leader of the rebellion, Rose Quartz Facet-6Q9H Cut-8TZ has shattered Pink Diamond."  
This time, Iris let the wailing go on for a moment, although, it was mainly the jaspers. A few rubies seemed to be joining in, but most stayed silent. Ruby knew for a fact that none of the rubies within this facility had ever met her. Some of the jaspers might have, but she wasn't sure. Pink Diamond had ordered them to be made, sure, but that didn't mean she had ever done everything for them. Ruby guessed she was grateful to be alive, sure. But to Pink Diamond, she was just a disposable ruby, one who would be sent off on mission after mission to protect one of her precious subjects, for all eternity, or until she was shattered.

Eventually, two sharp claps from Iris brought the noise to a stop once again. "For now, you will belong to both Blue and Yellow Diamond, until this whole debacle is behind us. After, it is uncertain. However, Blue Diamond has already left for earth to shelter the remains of Pink Diamond's army and court, so it is likely you will simply be assimilated into Yellow Diamond's rule. That will be all." With the conclusion, of her last sentence, Iris Agate warped out.

As soon as she was gone, the moaning and wailing started up again. Ruby, as well as all the rubies surrounding her, simply stood and looked around, waiting for instruction. 1AD turned around to look at her company, as if any of them knew what to do. She caught Ruby's eye, and pulled a 'help me' face. Ruby made a face, and shrugged. She didn't know any more than she did. 1AD pulled her mouth over to one side and turned back. Ruby didn't know how long they stood like that, but it felt like a while. Eventually, a jasper stood, and dismissed all of them to their compartments. They marched in formation, starting with company 1A1B, and working their way down the list. Eventually 2L6M was called, and Ruby was glad to get moving.

* * *

It had been about a week since Iris Agate's announcement. The first few days were weird and tense, with the normal schedule and training thrown out the window. After that, everything reverted back, and it was almost like nothing had ever happened. They trained, they socialized, they drilled, and back again. Same routine, different diamond. Diamonds? Whose rule they fell under was still a weird concept to her. They had always belonged to Pink Diamond, but it was pretty common for a team of rubies to be sent out for Blue or Yellow Diamond, so it wasn't like this was a drastic change.

Ruby was in her socializing period when the coms went off again.

"Ruby Facet- 2L6M Cut- 9OS, Ruby Facet- 2L6M Cut- 4QR, and Ruby Facet- 2L6M Cut- 6KM, please report to ground 1."  
Ruby glanced up. She had a mission? She had never had a mission before. She started to stand up, feeling the excitement build. She glanced over at 9OS and 4QR, and they had similar faces of excitement. They grinned at each other, and raced down the floors of the facility towards ground 1. They stopped right in front of the doors, and fell into proper formation, but still couldn't wipe their smiles off. 4QR opened the door, and they marched in.

A jasper stood, and looked at them expectantly. 4QR spoke up.

"Ruby Facet- 2L6M Cut- 4QR, Ruby Facet- 2L6M Cut- 6KM, and Ruby Facet- 2L6M Cut- 9OS, reporting in."

The jasper nodded. "Over there." She pointed towards the warp pad, where another jasper stood waiting. They all nodded and marched over towards the warp pad.

The jasper stood with a screen, which Ruby could already see had their facets and cuts logged in.

"Gems." The jasper commanded. 4QR held out her right hand, and the jasper scanned the gem on the back. The screen lit up with information, and then packed itself away under 4QR's log. Ruby held out her left hand, and witnessed the same thing happen when the jasper scanned the gem embedded in her palm. 9OS turned her right shoulder towards the jasper, and her gem was scanned as well.

The jasper quickly scanned over the information on the screen then nodded. "Good. You're all clear. This mission should be easy. You are to be guarding Blue Diamond's sapphire, which sounds harder than it is. They can usually see danger before it happens, and hardly ever require ruby guards. However, you will be traveling with her to earth, as she is to help Blue Diamond end the rebellion."

Ruby glanced over at 4QR and 9OS, all sharing the same uneasy look.

"Earth?" Ruby asked.

The jasper nodded. "Like I said, she stays clear of danger, so you all are more for show." She ushered the three of them onto the warp pad. "I heard she wasn't bringing her pearl. Be her temporary pearls if you must." She gave a sadistic grin to them just before the warp activated.

Ruby stuck her tongue out in disgust. "Jaspers are assholes." She muttered.

9OS started doing flips in the warp stream. "WE GET TO PUNCH REBELSSSSSS!"

Ruby looked at her. "You heard the jasper, we probably won't see any action."

9OS stopped, and hung upside down in front of Ruby. "I'll find the rebels, and punch them right in their gems!"

Ruby made a face at her, and ducked around her, only offering a "You're gonna fall."

9OS stuck her tongue out. "Am not."

4QR jumped in. "Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

Ruby groaned and put her hands over her ears.

"Are no- WOAH!"  
Ruby and 4QR landed on their feet on the warp pad, while 9OS landed face first.

"Ughhhhhhhhh."

4QR laughed a bit and kicked at her. She sat up a little. "I'm alive."

4QR and Ruby laughed at the same time, and let out a simultaneous "Are too."

A blue gem approached, and 9OS hopped up. They all fell into a salute. The gem was dark blue, with streaks of blue hardly a shade lighter across her skin and hair, which was tied up.

"Are you the rubies assigned to Her Clarity?"

Ruby glanced over at 4QR and 9OS. 'Her Clarity?' That was new. Ruby guessed that you get fancy names if you're directly below the diamonds.

"Yes?" 4QR spoke up.

The gem frowned at her. "Are you answering or asking?"

9OS cleared her throat. "Yes." She stated.

The blue gem nodded. "Good. I'm Blue Turquoise, head of compound security."

Ruby felt her eyes widen. "C-compound?"

Blue Turquoise arched an eyebrow.

9OS jumped in. "Are we in Blue Diamond's compound?!"

Blue Turquoise made an exasperated sound. "Of course. Where else would Blue Diamond's sapphire reside?"

The rubies looked at each other, and let out a simultaneous "Ohhhhhh."

Blue Turquoise rolled her eyes. "Right this way." She led them out of what Ruby guessed was the security headquarters. A massive blue structure was the first thing she saw when she stepped outside. It had a center pillar made of glass, with large blue structures rising up around it. The structures glinted in the outside light, and Ruby guessed they were made of metal.

"They almost look like… shards." 9OS whispered from beside her."

Fear gripped Ruby when she realized she was right. The metal structures rose into the sky and ended with a point, like the splintered remains of a gem. They continued towards what was obviously Blue Diamond's residence. Just before the main yard towards the front of the building, another structure caught Ruby's eye. It was smaller than Blue Diamond's building, but still bigger than anything Ruby had ever seen. It had the same type of glass column as Blue Diamond's residence, but had lacked the metal shards. A large gem stood in front of the door.

The blue gem was bulkier than Blue Turquoise, but smaller than a jasper. Her hair was long, and for the most part white, except for some dark blue streaks throughout.

Blue Turquoise walked up to her and pulled a screen out of the gem on her chest. The gem looked over it, nodded once, and stepped to the side.

Blue Turquoise waved a hand as she went by. "Thank you, Sodalite."

Once they were inside, Blue Turquoise directed them to a screen on the far wall.

"Step up, and let the screen scan your gems."  
The each did as they were told, and were rewarded with smaller versions of screens with their information on it. "These are ID screens," Blue Turquoise explained. "They will allow you into the compound, and into Her Clarity's compartment only, so don't even think of trying anything else." She looked pointedly at all three of them. "Her Grand Clarity has gone to deliver her pearl to Yellow Diamond's compound for the duration of her time away from Homeworld, so wait here, and do not touch anything. She will arrive shortly." Blue Turquoise turned on her heel and left through the sliding door, leaving the three rubies behind.

* * *

9OS groaned as she rolled onto her back from her stomach. "I'M BOREEEEED!"

Ruby rolled her eyes and stretched out her leg to kick at her. "We all are."

The three of them had eventually gotten bored of standing, and ended up on the ground. Ruby was sitting cross-legged, with 9OS stretched out on her right, while 4QR was on her left, laid out on her stomach with her head propped up on her hands.

9OS flailed her arms and legs for a second. "Well 'Her Grand Clarity' better make her damned grand entrance before I start punching her pretty little glass compartment."

4QR let her head fall face first into the ground. "UUUGHHHH. Why do all the important gems think they can keep all of us other gems waiting all the time?!"

Ruby didn't say anything, but she couldn't help but agree. This was getting ridiculous.

They didn't sit for too much longer before they heard a "Your rubies are awaiting you, Your Clarity."

The rubies all scrambled up and fell into formation. "Thank you, Sodalite."

The door slid open, and 'Her Clarity' finally walked in.

"Your Clarity." They all said in unison, bowing and making the diamond symbol like they had been taught. Ruby looked up at her, just intending to get a quick look at the gem she was supposed to be protecting and…

Woah.

She seemed to be analyzing the team that was supposed to protect her, but Ruby couldn't help but analyze _her_. Her hair was long, light blue, and Ruby had the urge to run her fingers through it. Her bangs covered her eyes, and she _really_ wished they didn't. She wanted to see the eyes of the gem who was as effortlessly beautiful as this one.

She was still staring when she felt her eyes on her. She immediately dropped her gaze, and begged with every fiber of her being that she hadn't noticed her staring for too long. Ruby could feel Blue Diamond's sapphire eyes in her a moment longer, before her com buzzed.

"If you'll excuse me." She walked- no, floated, towards the com, and answered it.

Ruby straightened, but kept her eyes on her. That is, until 4QR elbowed her in the side.

"What was that for?" Ruby stage-whispered.

9OS snickered behind her hand, while 4QR waggled her eyebrows. Ruby felt her face heat up.

"What?" She crossed her arms and half turned away from them.

Ruby heard them continue to snicker, and made a swatting motion at the two of them. 9OS shoved her a little, and she was about to retaliate when she heard the com hang up. They all straightened, and looked down. Ruby glanced up, just once, to see what she was doing… only to feel her eyes on her again.

"Shit." She muttered under her breath, as she dropped her gaze. She felt more than heard 9OS laugh a little beside her.

"Have any of you ever been off Homeworld?"

"No, your clarity."

That wasn't exactly true, Ruby thought. Technically, none of them had ever been _on_ Homeworld before now. But she knew what she meant. The inner planets of Homeworld's galaxy were all considered 'Homeworld', even though the only true Homeworld was the planet with all the diamond compounds.

"It's an experience…" The sapphire continued. "Tomorrow, we will board the ship. The trip will take one week and 6 days. Upon arrival, I will assess the situation, and determine what must be done. Depending on the course of fate that is taken, we may have to stay and direct the gems in charge of ending the rebellion. This may be our diplomatic team, or this may be warriors. You three are to protect me. Unless they are a threat in the moment, you are not to go fighting the rebels unless I or Blue Diamond give you direct orders. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Your Clarity." Ruby couldn't help but wonder if that was enough to keep 9OS in her place, but she'd wait and see.

"Good. Take this day to familiarize yourself with the Crystal Gems and the earth. You may use my screen." She motioned to the screen Blue Turquoise had used to issue them their own ID screens. "I must attend to a few duties that have to be taken care of before my departure."

"Yes, Your Clarity." They all said in unison. Ruby didn't know if she could stand only hearing 'yes' or 'no your clarity' all day. She didn't know how the sapphire did it.

"I shall return."

She started to float away, and Ruby turned towards the screen, about to follow 9OS and 4QR, when she felt eyes on her. She turned back to the sapphire for just a split second, and she'll be damned if she didn't catch that slight blush before she went out the sliding door.

* * *

Ruby was trying to help, she really was. But she couldn't help the laughter that escaped her every time she looked at 9OS. 4QR wasn't helping much either, doubled over with laughter much like Ruby.

"Guys, help me!" 9OS implored. "I can't burn all this off by myself!"

Ruby almost fell down. "It's your own fault!" She managed to get out in between breaths of laughter.

"That's what you get for pestering her so much!" 4QR added.

9OS looked pointedly at 4QR. "You've been frozen too!"

"Over something _you_ did!" 4QR shot back.

9OS had fallen into the habit of annoying Sapphire as much as possible during the trip to earth. Eventually she grew tired of it and froze her. That was day two. It was now day 6, and 9OS had gotten her fourth freeze that morning.

Ruby finally let her laughter die down to stupid giggles as she stepped up to help her fellow gem. She put her hand over the ice and began melting it, stopping every so often to laugh. She didn't make very much headway on the ice before she heard the compartment across the hall from them open and shut. Ruby immediately headed to their own door, with the intent to help with whatever Sapphire was doing.

"Wait!" 9OS cried. "Where are you going?"

"We're supposed to help Sapphire. I'm going to help Sapphire." Ruby shrugged, but had a cheeky grin on her face as she exited the compartment.

* * *

\

There was a saying among the jaspers back at Alpha E-1. "War is hell." It was usually followed by another jasper laughing and saying "Well if war is hell, I never want to see heaven." Ruby didn't know what any of that meant. She figured that it was just because jaspers were literally made for wars. But earth. Earth was hell.

Every day, they saw broken or shattered gems being brought to Blue Diamond. They never saw them again. At night, Ruby could hear the screams and cries of those on the battlefield. Occasionally, she could _hear_ a gem being shattered, as well as the hair-raising scream that came with it. Sometimes it was the shattered gem, letting their voice be heard one last time before they lost all consciousness. Sometimes, and Ruby wasn't sure which one was worse, it was the scream of the gem who just became a shatterer. Realizing that they had taken another gems life, and the absolute fear and terror of what they had just done clawing at their throats until they scream in agony. Ruby knew she would never get those screams out of her head, no matter how hard she tried.

This planet was taking a toll on all of them, even Sapphire. It physically pained Ruby to see her wince at every broken gem they saw. She pulled a couple of strings with the guards that used to belong to Pink Diamond, and had a shade brought in for the window in the compartment.

Sapphire was in there now, going over all of the possible futures and fates that could be taken before she made the final call on the war. Ruby was nervous. Once, on the ship, Sapphire had indulged a little, not a lot, just a little, of the things that she sees, and how situations can leave a horrifying and permanent mark, even if they are not the future that becomes a reality.

And now… now Sapphire was literally trying to see all the ways that Homeworld could shatter the gems of the rebels. She was intentionally looking for it because that was what she was supposed to do, but it didn't make it any easier. Ruby's heart ached for her.

Eventually just standing there was no longer an option, for Ruby, and she took to pacing the small hallway outside the compartment.

"You know that's not helping anything, right?" 4QR deadpanned. Earth had taken a toll on her loudmouthed behavior, but not as much as you'd would think it would.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Neither is standing there."

"Okay, but-"4QR started.

"Your _girlfriend_ is not going to make her decision any faster with you pacing like that!" 9OS burst out.

"AGH! She's _not_ my girlfriend!" Ruby yelled.

9OS had the biggest shit-eating grin if Ruby ever saw one. "Youuuuu want her to beeeee."

Ruby dropped her head to her hands. "Shut up shut up shut upppp…"

She heard 9OS and 4QR both start to laugh. Ruby couldn't help but groan.

They stood out there for a while longer, and Ruby was debating whether to pick up her pacing again or not, when Sapphire burst out of the room panting and disheveled. Ruby heavily fought the urge to go to her. She had no idea what she would do once she got over there, but every atom in her body was screaming at her to do it. She settled for looking at her.

"I know what must be done, but we must hurry."

Ruby nodded in confirmation, and the three rubies fell into formation.

Ruby stuck close to Sapphire, just a couple of steps ahead. She still wasn't entirely convinced that Sapphire wasn't about to fall, and the closeness did something to calm her own nerves.

She could hear bits and pieces of 9OS and 4QR's conversation, and threw in a "Oh, come on. We'll punch 'em together when we fuse. That's why they sent, uh, three of us?"

"Three this!" 9OS yelled, throwing a punch at her face. Ruby instinctively put her arms up to protect her, and stumbled slightly… Right. Into. Sapphire.

Shit shit shit fucking dammit she was going to shatter 9OS!

She reached out to Sapphire. "Oh, I, um, I'm so sorry, I, let me, uh…"

Sapphire brushed her off. "I'm fine."

"What?" Ruby swallowed. That came out a little cold, even for Sapphire.

"It's okay, it was bound to happen."

"I, uh… okay." That stung a little bit. Ruby had almost thought they were friends, and here she was, being brushed off like an annoying bug.

"Now please wait here. I must attend to my duties." The three of the complacently fell into line.

"Right."

"Uhm."

"Yes."

Ruby let her eyes follow her all the way to Blue Diamond's palanquin, where she disappeared inside. She didn't break formation, but gritted out to 9OS, "I. Am. Going. To. Shatter you!"

9OS looked sheepish. "Sorry!"

"Ughhh." Ruby grumbled. Sapphire returned, and settled in by Ruby.

"What a beautiful place to build a colony. I wish I could have seen more of this planet."

Ruby was honestly a little surprised Sapphire was talking to her, after the incident from a few minutes ago, and how she had acted afterwards.

"Uh… there's still time." Ruby didn't know what else to say. They didn't technically have a set date they were supposed to leave.

Sapphire let out a breath at that. "That is a nice thought, but… no."

Okayyyyy…?

"Blue Diamond, leave this planet! This colony will not be completed!"

4QR was the first to react. "It's the rebels!"

Ruby forgot about the awkward interaction with Sapphire for the time being, and rushed in to protect her. She, 4QR, and 9OS, fused, and charged the leader of the rebellion, and the one who shattered pink diamond, Rose Quartz.

Ruby wasn't sure what the plan was, as she didn't think to summon a weapon. She just charged with her fist raised. She attributed it to 9OS and went with it. When she fuses, she can feel herself as a massive Ruby, with unlimited power flowing through her veins. This time was no different, and she could feel that power surging towards Rose Quartz.

And then it wasn't. Ruby fell flat on her face, and let out a small groan before propping herself up.

"Thank you, Ruby. You did your best."

Ruby turned to see what the hell Sapphire was talking about.

The pearl had her sword raised, and was headed towards Sapphire.

Everything hit her like a ton of bricks. Sapphire was going to be poofed. Sapphire was _okay_ with that. Ruby gritted her teeth and begun to stand. Sapphire might be okay with it, but Ruby _was not._

"NOOOOO!"

Ruby didn't know what she had been thinking, only to get Sapphire as far away from the pearl's sword as possible. She hadn't expected… this.

She could feel herself, but she could also feel someone else. She could feel the power she felt when she fused, but it was... different, somehow.

"Wha…" Who's voice was that?

Ruby was scared. She was terrified.

"What…" That same voice again. "What is this?"

Ruby was feeling, reaching out. Trying to find something, _anything_ that would help her make sense of what was happening. Something hit her. Not literally, but not metaphorically either. She just felt it… inside?

It was Sapphire. The person she could feel so close to her, the one who was contributing to the fear she could feel. It was _Sapphire_.

"SAPPHIRE!" She called. She needed to find her. She knew she was there, she knew she was close, and she knew she was scared, just like Ruby. She needed to find her, to help calm her down, to help calm _Ruby_ down as well.

"RUBY!" Sapphire's voice called back. It was close, but it echoed in the darkness, bouncing off of nothing, before fading.

'It's fusion.' Ruby thought. 'Nothing like I've ever experienced, but still fusion.'

She could hear Sapphire's question, but instead of Sapphire's voice, it was the same deep, accented voice from before. "Is this…?"

And then… nothing. Ruby was ripped from that darkness, and thrust back into her own body. She could hear gems yelling. She could hear Blue Diamond yelling, but only zoned back in when she realized that yelling was directed at Sapphire.

"NO!" Ruby cut in. "It was me!"

"Clearly." Blue Diamond's voice was cold, and Ruby could almost feel the frost of it. "How dare you fuse with a member of my court?!"

The shot of terror that came through Ruby was well justified, she thought. She knew, without a shadow of a doubt, what was about to come next. It didn't stop her from trying to prevent it, though.

"Forgive me, I…I- "

Blue Diamond cut her off. "You will be _broken_ for this!"

Ruby didn't even have time to process the terror that would have inevitably come, before she felt herself being yanked, pulled, and _flying_ through the air. She felt herself screaming, felt herself falling, but most importantly, she felt Sapphire. She was scared, no. _Terrified._ But if Sapphire was safe, and she herself was safe, did it really matter?

 **AN part 2~ So, for Blue Diamond's main building/structure/thing, think of Regina's evil queen castle from Once Upon a Time. And then Sapph's would be the same minus all the metal spikes or whatever y'all wanna call those. I've been debating on making this a bunch of oneshots. Thoughts? It would more than likely be 99.9% Ruby/Sapphire centric, with some other random ones thrown in there. I'm open to suggestions.**


	3. Authors Note!

Hello again! Sorry this has taken so long, but I am in need of ideas! I have not abandoned this story, I promise! But if any of you lovely readers have any requests, I'm all ears!


	4. Chapter 4 (Wandering)

**(AN: So. The new Bomb may or may not have absolutely broken me. So, this chapter is a nice and peaceful lil fluffball, that is completely ignoring the clusterfuck that has begun in the canon universe. Also, I have a headcanon that Rupphire wandered around earth for a few years before meeting Rose and Pearl again. This will have taken place in that time.)**

"It's not going to shatter you."

"You don't know that!"

Ruby continued to crouch several feet away from the animal as Sapphire suppressed a sigh.

"Look." Sapphire took a step towards the creature, and a wall of red formed in front of her.

"Wait!" Ruby screamed.

Sapphire did sigh this time, and placed her hands on her hips.

"I'll um... I'll go..." Ruby mumbled, wringing her hands and eyeing the creature.

Ruby began to make a wide circle around the creature, keeping her body low, and her front towards it. Sapphire suppressed a giggle, thinking she looked a bit like the animals they had seen crawling on the beach.

The animal's banded tail began to bristle as Ruby moved out of its line of sight and behind it. It turned its body to continue to face her. Ruby froze, her eyes as big as warp pads. Sapphire doubled over in silent laughter.

Ruby backed away from the creature, not taking her eyes off it. The animal seemed to accept the distance between them, and settled down. Sapphire was still giggling while she lifted herself off the ground and floated over it, landing softly beside Ruby. Ruby looked at her with wide eyes.

Ruby jumped up and flailed her arms for a moment before landing on her feet. "Well, why didn't you do that in the first place?!"

Sapphire's laughter started up once again.

"I… _tried…_ to tell you… I was going to." She gasped out in between laughs.

When she got her bearings, she glanced back up at Ruby…

Only to find her staring back at her. That stupid little smile on her face. Sapphire had the sudden urge to smack it off. She restrained herself, and straightened. Smoothing her dress out.

"Come on. I want to find shelter before it gets dark." She began walking without checking to see if Ruby was behind her.

* * *

They had been walking a while. Sapphire had eventually turned to look back at Ruby once she had shoved her annoyance away. She wished she could just say something. She didn't know what to say. She didn't even know what she felt. Her Visions were absolutely no help. There were equal chances of Ruby feeling the same confusing feeling, rebuffing her and leaving, or rebuffing her and staying, which Sapphire knew just wouldn't be good for either of them. So, she kept quiet about it. It really wasn't as bad during the day. They walked and witnessed the beauty of the planet that had involuntarily become their home, and Sapphire was able to put Ruby and her confusing feelings for her in the back of her mind. But at night, once the splendor of the stars in the sky had grown old, and there was nothing to do but sit in the dark, it was harder to ignore. Sapphire guessed this is why she had taken to sleeping.

She supposed she shouldn't be too annoyed at Ruby, as she couldn't help it. She knew nothing about it. But in those little moments, like when Sapphire would laugh and Ruby would just smile at her, Sapphire wondered if maybe she thought of it too.

Then the ridiculousness of it would dawn on her and Sapphire would find herself annoyed. She never could bring herself to apologize, however. Because an apology would mean explaining why, and Sapphire just couldn't do that. She tried to make up for it by talking and being kind. She wasn't entirely sure how well it worked.

They came upon a cave, and decided that this would be it for the night. Ruby made them a small fire, and Sapphire gathered up soft vegetation to sleep on.

"You sure you don't want to at least try it? It's kind of nice." Sapphire offered some of her findings to Ruby.

Ruby scrunched her nose a little. "I'm fine. It seems weird to me."

Sapphire shrugged and made her small sleeping area. This had become their nightly ritual. Ruby made a fire while Sapphire made a sleeping area. They both then waited around until the planet's star went down, and looked at the stars. This was the only time Sapphire could turn off her Visions. She had no idea how, or why this was the only time she could, but she could, and she took advantage of it. Sapphire thought it a nice way to end the day.

* * *

They had been in silence a while, simply watching the stars.

"Do you miss it?"

Sapphire jumped a little at the sound of Ruby's voice, but didn't need to ask to know what she was talking about.

"Not really. The only gems I had contact with were Pearl and Blue Diamond. I do miss Pearl sometimes, not for the reason you think, though. She was just, always a companion. It's rather lonely being a Sapphire. Pearl did all her duties as she should, but then... I don't know. She was almost... a friend, I suppose."

Sapphire took a breath she didn't need, just to calm herself. She did miss Pearl. She was never sure if Pearl was as kind as she was because it was simply her duty, or if she cared, but she liked to think it was because she cared.

"You don't miss Blue Diamond?" Ruby's voice pulled her out of her reminiscing.

"Blue Diamond… I was a tool to her. We never had more than a working relationship. And I was fine with it. I know things about her that if I had told some other gem, I and them would be shattered, sapphire or not. I suppose that's why she kept me so isolated..." She glanced over at Ruby, who was watching with rapt attention.

"It just made it easier to leave, really." Sapphire finished with a shrug. "Do you miss it?"

Ruby pulled her mouth to the side and rolled onto her back. Sapphire did the same. "I don't miss Homeworld itself, that's for sure. I kind of miss my platoon though. I had gems I would have called friends, although that may just be because none of us had anywhere else to go…" Ruby trailed off.

Sapphire, who had been listening while watching the stars, turned to look at her. "Are you okay?"

Ruby wiped a tear from her face. "Yeah, yeah. I just, realized that to them, I'm shattered. There's no way that they'll tell the compound that it's possible to go to earth and escape. They'll send back a message that I've been shattered, and I'll just be another one that went out and didn't come back. The platoon will take it hard for a little while, but then some other ruby will come in to replace me, and that will be that." Ruby sighed. Sapphire placed her hand on her arm.

"You're still important. You still matter to me."

Ruby turned her head and gave her a sad little smile, then turned back up to face the stars.

They were both quiet for a moment, before Ruby seemed to pull herself together.

"But I won't miss it. I like it here."

Sapphire gave a small laugh.

Ruby, who Sapphire got the feeling didn't want the attention to be on her, continued to speak. "Why do you sleep?"

Sapphire froze. 'No no no no any question but that!' Her mind screamed. She managed to keep quiet, but only barely.

"I… um… well, I…" She stammered out. She felt her body begin to freeze up at her lack of a response, when Ruby jerked away from her with a slight hiss.

Sapphire looked over at her, completely ignoring the question for now.

Ruby was sitting up, lightly shaking the arm that Sapphire had had her hand on.

"Are you okay?"

Ruby laughed a little. "No one ever needs to ask when you get flustered." She presented Sapphire with her arm, which had a tiny purple bruise in the shape of Sapphire's hand on it.

Sapphire placed her hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry! I-"

Ruby cut her off with a small laugh. "It's fine Sapph. It'll be gone before too long."

Sapphire felt her face heat up a little at the use of Ruby's nickname. She had only used it a handful of times, but Sapphire was learning to like it.

"Well, I'm sorry anyway." Sapphire smiled at her before standing up.

She straightened out her dress with her hands, then offered one to Ruby, who was still on the ground.

"Come on, can't have you getting any more injuries."

Ruby smiled up at her, and accepted the help up.

Once they were both up, they began walking to their cave, Sapphire with the intent of sleeping. She could feel her Visions return, but largely ignored them, and instead focused on Ruby swatting at the small creatures that flew around her, lighting up as they did so.

She laughed at her companion, and ducked to avoid a flailing arm swiping at one that Ruby deemed 'too close to your face'.

They continued their short walk, and had almost gotten to their cave when a Vision stopped her dead in her tracks.

The Vision was short, but Sapphire felt her legs buckle under her once it released her. She would have gone down if Ruby hadn't had her hands on her shoulders.

"Sapphire! Are you okay?!" Ruby was looking at with so much care and worry in her eyes, Sapphire didn't want to burden her with this new Vision.

"I'm fine." She straightened up a little. Ruby dropped her arms.

"Are you sure? Was it a vision?"

"I'm sure." Sapphire purposely ignored the second question.

She began walking again, and could feel Ruby's hand lingering over the small of her back, waiting to catch her if she fell. Sapphire normally would have analyzed the action, sent it through countless scenarios to determine what should be done about it and what it meant. But now, right now the only thing she could see was the battlefield. She could see the gems who were shattered, or cracked, and could hear the sickening crunching noises they made as other gems ran over them. She could hear the echoes of screams ringing in her ears, and the clang of weapons around her. But, perhaps most importantly, she felt the power coursing through her veins. The power and strength that she had only felt once before, but could recognize it anywhere. She heard that voice, unfamiliar the first time she heard it, but she knew now who's it was, screaming orders, commanding gems, and being extraordinarily good at it. She felt her fists clench, and looked down in time to catch a glimpse of two gauntlets, heavy and powerful over her hands, ready for the next gem who dared to cross her path.

 **(Post AN: Okayyy, so maybe not the fluff I promised, but I'm just not real sure I'm good at that. To me, Sapphire seems really OOC, but there just wasn't a ton I could figure to do with it. We don't know about what happened between then and now, only that she doesn't seem to be in 'Dignitary Mode' as I call it unless there's an immediate situation that requires it [granted, that's pretty much the only time we see her, but think 'Hit the Diamond' type attitude] and so I kind of feel like somewhere in between there, she loosened up and lost that, especially with Ruby. Anyway, this has no point in anything at all, and was pretty much written because I needed semi-happy times, even if it's not canon. I'll do Ruby's POV in a couple days, and then I actually have an idea that's semi-relevant to the canon plotline. As always, constructive criticism is appreciated, and ideas are always welcome!)**


	5. Chapter 5 (Wandering Ruby's POV)

**(AN: Dear guest MoonPoppy, I could go into great detail about how justmeagain spent three hours at school pouring over internet sites and books from the library, also bringing in the history and science teachers just to figure out what the ancient equivalent of a raccoon would be 5,750 years ago, but it's a rather boring story, and quite frankly, makes me sound crazy. So, we'll just leave it at; justmeagain as well as a science and history teacher spent three hours researching ancient raccoons, only to give up and therefore, I just gave a vague raccoon-y description and called it good. So, to make a long answer short, a raccoon thing ;P Anywho, this is Ruby's POV of the previous chapter… three weeks later. And I apologize for that. I try to post the same chapter from the different POVs close together, but… yeahhhhh. As I mentioned last chapter, this is pretty much semi-happy times to avoid the COMPLETE AND TOTAL FEELS ROLLERCOASTER THAT WAS WANTED. So, I give you 'Her Ruby' chapter 2B, Wandering [Ruby's POV])**

Ruby was low to the ground, with her feet shoulder width apart, just like she was taught when handling an opponent her size or smaller. The creature hissed at her again.

Although, this was certainly a far cry from any opponent she'd ever faced.

"It's not going to shatter you." Ruby heard from behind her.

"You don't know that!" Ruby sent back over her shoulder.

A few minutes of silence went by before Sapphire spoke again. "Look,"

Out of the corner of her eye, Ruby saw Sapphire begin to step towards the creature.

'NOOOOOOOOO' Her mind screamed. Although what actually came out of her mouth was a simple "Wait!" as she darted over in front of Sapphire. She heard the sigh but ignored it, putting all her focus on the angry creature in front of her.

"I'll um… I'll go…" Ruby managed to choke out.

There was no protocol for dealing with earth creatures that Ruby had been taught back on Alpha E-1, at least none that she had been made aware of, so she just went with the broad move of 'don't turn your back on the enemy.' She didn't really have a plan, but she thought maybe if she could get behind it…

Almost there… almost there… almooooss-

The animal shifted to watch her. She froze. Huh. Not as stupid as she thought.

Ruby tried to continue her motion, but stopped when it began to hiss at her.

Oh hell no. She was not risking getting her gem cracked by the fearsome creature, and instead just backed away. The damned thing seemed to settle, but Ruby was still keeping an eye on it.

Okay. Now how to get Sapphire around it…

Her train of thought was interrupted by the soft thud of Sapphire landing next to her.

 _Seriously?!_

Ruby couldn't help the small jump that came from her. She had risked her gem for her after all!

"Well, why didn't you do that in the first place!?"

Sapphire's laugh cooled her off immensely, and the small smile appeared on Ruby's face. The same smile that she had noticed more and more when she was around Sapphire.

"I… _tried_... to tell you… I was going to." Her laughter was persistent, and Ruby let a small breath of laughter of her own escape her as she shook her head, before turning her attention back to Sapphire.

Sapphire's laughter continued for a minute, before she finally began to breathe normally. She glanced up at Ruby, and Ruby began to give her a cheesy smile, when she noticed Sapph's expression change. It went from carefree and happy to annoyed to restrained in under a second. Ruby furrowed her brow, and was about to ask her about it, when Sapphire cut her off.

"Come on. I want to find shelter before it gets dark." Sapphire turned on her heel and walked away.

Ruby was startled at her tone of voice. It was… snappy? Almost like the way she would speak to 9OS while they were on the ship, and it stung her a bit. She sighed and put her hand to her forehead. She's been doing that a lot lately, and Ruby wasn't sure how to handle it, aside from hanging back and letting her cool off. She didn't know if it was her, or something she did, but she knew they needed to discuss it sooner or later. She let her hand drop from her face and followed slowly behind Sapphire.

* * *

Ruby called to Sapphire, wanting her to inspect the cave she had found. Sapphire wandered over from the flower patch she had been poking around in, and started examining the cave. Ruby leaned against the wall and watched her move around the damp cave. It was amazing how she could take a dark, dirty cave and light it up with her beauty and grace.

Ruby drew her lips to the side and thought about saying some of this to Sapphire. She knew she never would. She just didn't have the guts, and it would probably weird her out. Or send her into one of her pissed off, quiet spells. Or both. Ruby suppressed a groan and let her head hit the rock wall of the cave, before turning it and watching the earth vegetation dance in the wind, thinking of things she'd like to say, but never would.

Sapphire's voice cut into her thoughts. "This should be good."

Ruby gave her a small nod and a smile and wandered out to find sticks for their fire. She had just gotten a good little fire going when Sapphire came back in with her soft things to sleep on. That was an absolute mystery to Ruby. There had been no bed in her compartment back on the diamond base, and she'd alluded to never sleeping before she came to earth a time or two when they had just been talking. So why had she started now? Ruby just didn't get it. It seemed like a waste of time to her, but she wouldn't stop her. Sapphire offered her some, just as she always did.

"You sure you don't want to at least try it? It's kind of nice."

Ruby shook her head. "I'm fine. It seems weird to me."

Sapphire shrugged and went to make her bed on the other side of the fire. Ruby stood up and stretched while she waited on her. Sapphire came back and offered her a small smile while they exited the cave. Ruby lit her gem and guided Sapphire softly with a hand on her back. Ruby had no idea why they had started this, but it was nice. She felt like this was the only time she and Sapphire were one hundred percent honest with each other, no holds barred. They did talk during the day, and Ruby liked to think they were honest with each other, but there were some subjects that they would skirt around, and find something else to talk about. That didn't seem to be a problem when they were watching earth's stars.

They settled on their backs, and Ruby's gaze continued to be drawn to Homeworld's galaxy. They couldn't always see it, but when they could, Ruby found it hard to ignore it.

"Do you ever miss it?" She asked Sapphire.

Sapphire hesitated for a split second. "Not really. The only gems I came into constant contact with were Pearl and Blue Diamond. I do miss Pearl sometimes, not for the reason you think, though. She was just always a companion. Pearl did all her duties as she should, but then... I don't know. She was almost... a friend, I suppose."

"You don't miss Blue Diamond?" Ruby thought if she had known Pink like Sapph knew Blue, she might've missed her.

"Blue Diamond…" Sapphire mumbled, before starting again.

"I was a tool to her. We never had more than a working relationship. And I was fine with it. I know things about her that if I had told some other gem, I and them would be shattered, sapphire or not. I suppose that's why she kept me so isolated..."

She turned her head to look at Ruby, and Ruby couldn't help but note how small the distance that separated them was.

"It just made it easier to leave, really." Sapphire shrugged. "Do you miss it?"

Ruby shoved her thoughts of their closeness to the back of her mind. "I don't miss Homeworld, that's for sure. I kind of miss my platoon though. I had gems I would have called my friends, although that may just be because none of us had anywhere else to go…" Ruby felt herself trail off as a realization washed over her.

It never occurred to her before, but to her platoon, she was shattered. There was no way in the galaxy they would let it slip that she fused with the sapphire she was supposed to be protecting, then ran. That would have been wrapped up and taken care of in the easiest way possible, and that would be to kill her off to the minds of every gem who would have known her. One of the jaspers would have rounded up company 2L6M into their shared compartment space, and given the news that she had been shattered by one of the rebels. 7PV and 3ZC would probably take it the hardest, but they would get their shit together and move on in no time, never knowing, despite everything else, that she was happy and fine, wandering earth with a beautiful sapphire, and having no immediate cares in the world. The more she thought about it, the more sense it made. Her breath caught as she realized something else.

Even though 9OS and 4QR had been poofed at the time, Homeworld and Alpha E-1 officials would not know how much they knew about Ruby and Sapphire. They might have waited until they reformed and interrogated them, but Ruby doubted it. No, their gems had probably been shattered while they were still recovering inside. Their gems would have been swept aside and put where ever it is that they put the rest of the broken gems they had seen on earth. The jaspers would relay the same information about their demise as they had about Ruby's apparent one, and life would go on in Alpha E-1, three Rubies short.

Ruby's face was wet, and she didn't realize it until a gentle hand snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Are you okay?" Sapphire's face showed nothing but concern.

Ruby bit her lip and wiped her face the best she could. _No._

However, not wanting to upset Sapphire, she managed out a "Yeah, yeah."

So much for being one hundred percent honest with each other.

Ruby sighed. "I just realized that to them, I'm shattered." She felt her voice break, and she stopped to compose herself. "There's no way that they'll tell the compound that it's possible to go to earth and escape. They'll send back a message that I've been shattered, and I'll just be another one that went out and didn't come back. The platoon will take it hard for a little while, but then some other ruby will come in to replace me, and that will be that." She didn't mention 9OS and 4QR. Sapphire would feel guilty for treating them as she did, when it was them who started everything by pestering her. Ruby knew it wasn't her fault, so she didn't even bother.

Yep. So much for being one hundred percent honest. Ruby sighed and looked away. She felt Sapphire's hand on her arm, but kept her face turned away from her, not trusting herself to not have a breakdown if she saw the concern in Sapphire's face again.

"You're still important. You still matter to me." Sapphire's quiet voice almost broke her.

Ruby pulled herself together as quickly as she could, and turned to face Sapphire, giving her a small smile.

"But I won't miss it. I like it here." Ruby stops herself from adding 'with you' at the last second.

Sapphire let out a breathy laugh. Ruby composed herself, and quickly changed the subject before she said something she would regret.

"Why do you sleep?"

She felt Sapphire stiffen beside her. "I… um… well, I…"

Ruby furrowed her brow at her. It didn't _seem_ like that big of a deal… maybe there was something Sapphire wasn't telling her?

Ruby was musing this when her skin began to _burn._ Not like any burn she'd ever been given by another ruby, but almost like something was trying to fuse to her skin. She hissed, and pulled her arm away from Sapphire, sitting up to examine it.

She stifled a laugh when she saw the small, Sapphire-shaped handprint bruised onto her skin. Fire and ice indeed. She smirked to herself.

"Are you okay?" Sapphire reached towards her arm.

Ruby did laugh this time, and gingerly moved her arm towards her. "No one ever needs to ask when you get flustered."

The look of horror on Sapphire's face sent a wave of laughter through Ruby, which was only barely suppressed.

"I'm sorry! I-"

Ruby waved her off. "It's fine, Sapph. It'll be gone before too long."

Sapphire gave her a wry smile. "Well, I'm sorry anyway."

She stood up, and dusted off her dress before offering a hand to Ruby, who was content to lie there and watch her.

"Come on, can't have you getting anymore injuries." Sapphire smiled down at her.

Ruby let a snort of laughter escape her, before grabbing Sapphire's hand to pull herself up. They began walking towards their cave, when the stupid small flying things with the glowy butts showed up. These things had become a common sight, and Ruby absolutely hated them. She was flailing her arms, attempting to keep them off of her and Sapphire, when one got dangerously close to Sapphire.

"Ah-ha!" She screamed as she swatted at it.

"Was that necessary?" Sapphire laughed as she ducked.

Ruby managed to shrug as she continued to swat. "It was too close to your face."

She continued her swatting motion, even once she could see the cave, and only stopped when she didn't feel Sapphire's presence beside her anymore.

She turned around. "Sapph?"

Sapphire was standing there, a blank look on her face. It only lasted for a split second before she began to go down.

"Sapphire!" Ruby screamed as she lurched forward, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her upright.

Sapphire was almost a dead weight in Ruby's hands, and she was beginning to panic when the cloudy look finally cleared from her eye.

"Sapphire! Are you okay?"

Sapphire's breathing was shallow, but she managed to straighten, and get her weight on her feet again.

"I'm fine."

Ruby frowned at her. "Are you sure? Was it a vision?" Ruby hadn't seen her this affected over a vision since they were still with the diplomat team, and Ruby was terrified.

"I'm sure."

Ruby noticed that the second question went unanswered, but let it go for now. Sapphire seemed to take a second, then continued walking again. Ruby stayed right beside her, keeping her hand at the small of her back, not entirely sure she wouldn't fall again.

They made it back to the cave, and Sapphire muttered a quick 'good night' before laying down on her premade bed. It wasn't long until she was obviously out. Ruby moved closer to her, and let her hand rest on her head. This was absolutely creepy, and Ruby knew that, but she only did it sometimes, and it's not like she stayed there the whole night. She just felt better when she was closer to her. She usually just sat there and thought for a while, then went and found a spot where she could keep guard for the night.

Ruby gently ran her fingers through Sapphire's hair and sighed. She had absolutely no idea what they were going to do. She guessed they could continue to wander the earth forever, but she couldn't help but feel guilty for stealing Sapphire away from her life. She also wondered if Sapphire would ever get to the point when she regretted the decision so much, she would just up and leave Ruby to find the next ship back to her home on Blue Diamond's base.

Ruby sighed. That is, if there were still any ships to go back home. It had been around 120 days since they had jumped from the Cloud Arena, and they had not once run into Crystal Gems, or Homeworld soldiers. Ruby had absolutely no idea what they would do if they ran into either, but she was beginning to wonder about the war. Was it still going? Who had the upper hand? What would she and Sapphire do if Homeworld won? What would they do if the Crystal Gems won? In all honesty, the future terrified her. And she couldn't ask Sapphire, because she didn't want to put Sapphire through a vision that affected her like the one tonight, just so Ruby could get some answers. And anyway, she wasn't sure if she could handle knowing if they were going to split up eventually. If nothing else, Sapphire was her friend, and never seeing her again was something she would have been okay with before they jumped, but now… she just wasn't so sure. She wanted Sapphire to be happy, but was it selfish of her to want her to be happy with _her?_

She hung her head and sighed. Yes. It absolutely was. If, one day, Sapphire decided she no longer wanted to wander together, Ruby would let her go. It would hurt like hell, and she had no idea what she would do afterwards, but she would do it. Ruby took a resolving breath. Yes, she would respect Sapphire's wishes if or when it came to that, but for now, she was going to be happy with the time they did have together. She leaned down and very gently brushed her lips across the crown of Sapphire's head.

"I'll do whatever you want me to do. Just say the word." She whispered against her head.

Ruby pulled away from Sapphire and stood up, heading towards the entrance of their cave to take up her position for the night, unaware of the small smile that had appeared on Sapphire's face.


	6. Authors Note! (Part 2)

Hello, dear readers! I apologize if you've been getting all these updates from me, as they are just me going through and fixing a few things. But fear not! I am going to attempt to post an actual new chapter sometime tonight. I would also like to take a moment apologize for my lack of activity the past few months. My summer was quite busy, and once school started back, I couldn't really get back into a rhythm. I finally managed to do that, but then, had no inspiration (thank you, hiatus _). However, the new episodes last night have rejuvenated me. (Yes, I know they've been on the app, a while, but I never really had time to sit down and watch them, so I decided I'd just wait till they came on tv). So! Possible update tonight! Although, I'm going to go back on my word from my previous chapter, and it'll probably just be another fluffy, nonsense chapter, just to get back into things. Glad to see all you lovely readers again, and thank you all for staying with me! 3


	7. Chapter 6 (The Cave)

**(Hello, beautiful readers! Here is another chapter, as promised! This AN is the first thing I've written down, so with that in mind, I have no idea where I want to go with this one shot. I'm assuming the plot will develop as I type, but I apologize in advance for the jumbled mess this chapter will probably be. Anywho, after months of neglect, I give you Ruby and Sapphire!)**

Sapphire huffed. Homeworld didn't have anything like they were experiencing now. They'd encountered it before, but never like this. There was the moisture, which they'd seen, but never this much, and there were also the bright flashes of light and loud crashes. Sapphire had never really minded the wet things that fell from the sky. It had cleaned her off and given the earth a fresh, clean look. Now though, she could only ever see when the flashes came, and it was still in the afternoon. The moisture that had made her feel so clean created puddles of slop which just made her even dirtier.

She and Ruby had found a small cave to huddle in from the event. The only problem is, it was a small cave. They were literally huddling. Sapphire could feel her ice trying to form from her nervousness, bur Ruby's heat kept it at bay. She wasn't sure if that was just Ruby, or if she was feeling the same feelings Sapphire was.

Sapphire was trying to keep as much distance between them as she could, but she was still pressed up against Ruby from her waist to her knee. They both kept their hands in their laps. Sapphire was afraid of what would happen if they didn't.

* * *

They sat like that for a long time. The weather had blocked them from seeing the earth's star, but Sapphire could still feel that what had started in the early afternoon, had now progressed into at least late evening. Neither of them had said anything the entire time.

Finally, Ruby spoke.

"Well," She laughed. "this is new."

Sapphire let a breath out of her nose, her semblance of a laugh. "Indeed. I never saw anything like this back on Homeworld."

Ruby smiled. "We sure didn't see anything like this in the compound."

Sapphire let out a short laugh, and let her rigid posture go. They were now touching from their shoulders to their calves.

Sapphire turned to face Ruby, and Ruby did the same. Sapphire was surprised at how close they were to each other. When the brightness came, she could see the little bits of maroon in her otherwise black eyes.

"Tell me more about the compound?" Sapphire asked.

She had gotten very little out of Ruby about Alpha E-1. The only thing she knew is that it was big, and Ruby couldn't remember a time that she hadn't been in it.

Ruby let out a breath. "C'mon Sapph, that shit- OW!" She rubbed the spot Sapphire had just punched.

"You know I don't like it when you talk like that." Sapphire said, only half joking. The language which seems so normal to Ruby could very well get a gem shattered if they were in the wrong place in the wrong time back at the compound. It gave Sapphire terrible memories whenever she spoke like that, and she couldn't help but picture Ruby in the place of those unlucky few who had used that type of language in the presence of Blue Diamond. Blue had always been a sensitive gem, and she was especially sensitive to language like that. For all Sapphire knew about Blue Diamond, she had never known why she detested it so.

Ruby huffed. " _Fine._ That _stuff_ is depressing."

Sapphire put her hand down. "I want to know more about you, Ruby."

Had she a heart, it would have been pounding out of her chest. She hadn't meant for it to come out as gently as it did, but now it was out there. It was up to Ruby to decide what to do with it.

Ruby had a look on her face Sapphire could just see in the dark, but even in good light, she knew she wouldn't have been able to decipher it.

Ruby hesitated a moment more, then sighed. "Fine."

Sapphire smiled, and shifted to get more comfortable. They were now touching from shoulder to ankle.

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything."

Ruby snorted. "Give me something specific."

Sapphire thought for a minute. "What did you do on a daily basis?"

Ruby hummed a laugh. "Not much. I guess it all begins when you first begin orientation. They take you up your platoon, which is pretty much the only gems you'll ever interact with for the rest of your days, then it all begins. Once you get acclimated with your platoon, you got to the training room and well, _train_ , I guess. After you do that a while, we get a socializing period. Which pretty much means you stay in your platoon's quarters and talk for a little bit. Some of them sleep, but not many. Then you drill. This is probably the most interesting thing. Most of the time, it's just general, war scenario drills that the jaspers pick out. When you're an escort, it's one thing, when you're a soldier, it's another. But sometimes, when we have a war going on, we get to enact that particular war."

"So, during the rebellion, you got to fight the Crystal Gems?" Sapphire asked.

"Yeah. Well, holograms of them, anyway." Ruby elaborated.

"Hm." Sapphire hummed. "Did you… like… doing that?" She didn't look at Ruby as she said it.

Ruby huffed softly under her breath. "See, this is why I don't like talking about this stuff. It makes us seem barbaric."

Sapphire straightened a little. "That's not what I meant-"

"It's what you wanted to say." Ruby cut her off.

"No, I…" Sapphire sighed, and put a hand to her forehead. "Ok. Yes. That's what I meant. But not exactly in the sense you think I did. I know you Ruby. We've been together for over a full circle around this star. I was asking because I want to know the past you as well as the present you."

"Because you already know the future me?" Ruby muttered.

"I don't." Sapphire deadpanned. "Future versions of ourselves are determined by the paths we take in the past. I can see multiple versions of the future you, yes. But I'll never know the real future you until we get to that point in time. I want to know about the past you because I want to know _you_ , Ruby. I want to know what choices you made in the past to become the present you that I know today."

Ruby was giving Sapphire that same look that she had given her earlier. Sapphire didn't even try to decode it.

Ruby was silent for a few more minutes, and Sapphire listened to the moisture falling from the sky.

"Yes."

Sapphire, who had begun to see if anything was visible yet outside of their cave, gave a start at her voice.

"I liked it. But, Sapph, you need to understand that before you, that was the only thing I'd ever be. A soldier. So, I took every chance I could to make sure I was good at it."

They were quiet for a moment. Sapphire was still trying to process what she heard.

"Before me?" Sapphire finally asked.

She felt Ruby stiffen beside her. "I-I-I mean…"

She trailed off, and tried again. "I just mean, now, I have a purpose. I protect you while we figure out what to do."

Sapphire felt the glimmer of hope that Ruby's words had sparked within her die.

"Oh." She breathed.

They lapsed back into silence.

"Sapph?" Ruby finally asked.

"Yes?"

"Why do you care so much? About… me?"

Sapphire couldn't think of a good answer. Or at least an answer that wouldn't put their whole friendship in jeopardy. She finally settled with, "My business on Homeworld was to know the situation, analyze it, and determine what must be done. It's almost the same with you. Except, I don't decide what must be done. I decide what that means for you… for us."

"Us?" Sapphire felt more than saw Ruby turn her head to look at her.

"Us." Sapphire confirmed. "We're in this together. You're my friend. I could never do it without you."

"friend…" Sapphire heard Ruby mumble.

"yeah." Sapphire said, as much to herself as to Ruby.

"friend." She said as she settled her head against Ruby's shoulder. "friend."

 **(Honestly, I had other plans for this once I got writing, but it wouldn't come out right, so this is what I ended up with. This is also the shortest chapter I've ever posted. I may come back and add more, but I'll probably just leave it. I may post Ruby's POV tonight, but it will most likely come within the next couple of days. We'll see. As always, thank you so much, my lovely readers, and I'll see you next chapter!)**


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